In loving memory of Betty Jane Whalen, wife, mom, grandma, sister
and aunt who passed on to be with
the many family and friends that
moved on before her on Sunday,
August 9, 2020.
Betty was born the youngest of
8 children on February 25, 1933,
to parents Lillian May and Jacob
Heinrich Noblitt in Worden, MT.
Growing up, Betty enjoyed helping her dad take
care of the animals on their farm and helping him
with his duties as an irrigation district officer.
She also worked hard helping her mom package
butter at the town creamery and clean other
people’s homes. Betty graduated Valedictorian of
her class at Central High School in 1951.
Betty met her future husband, Daniel Whalen,
her sophomore year of high school at an iceskating
party. Dan was a senior at the time. After
graduation, Betty moved to Billings, MT, to start
business school where she also worked full-time
at the local phone company as a bookkeeper.
In June 1953, Betty and Dan were married in
Billings, MT. In September of 1953, Dan was
inducted into the Army and they left for Fort
Ord, CA. Betty lived on base while Dan served in
the Korean War. After Dan was transferred to the
Reserves through Fort Lewis in 1955, they moved
back to Bozeman, MT.
In December 1956, Betty and Dan welcomed
their first child, daughter Tracy Danielle. In
spring of 1958, Dan received his
bachelor’s and was immediately
pursued by Boeing in Seattle, WA.
Dan promptly took the job offer and
he and Betty moved their sprouting
family to Washington State. In
March 1960, Betty and Dan’s son
Scott Joseph was born. Their third
child, daughter Morie Louise, was
born in November 1963. The family
made a brief move 1964-1967 to
Satellite Beach, FL, while Dan worked at Kennedy
Space Center on the Saturn Project. Betty and Dan
eventually made their family home in Kent, WA.
Betty was a beautiful piano player, seamstress,
and enjoyed decorating for the holidays. She
loved being a bookkeeper and keeping record…
of everything! Betty was preceded in death by
their son, Scott, in 1990 from cancer, Dan in 1999
from Alzheimer’s and all her brothers and sisters.
Betty is survived by her eldest daughter, Tracy,
of Seattle; her youngest, Morie, and Morie’s
husband, Bill, and three amazing grandchildren,
Shea, Wren and Dalton of Enumclaw; her niece,
Audrey Johnson, of Billings; her sister-in-law,
JoAnn LeClaire, of Idaho; and many other nieces
and nephews.
Betty will be laid to rest with her husband,
Dan, and son, Scott, at Hillcrest Burial Park in
Kent, WA, on Friday, August 21st. Memorials
can be made in Betty’s name to the St. Labre
Indian School in Ashland, MT or the Alzheimer’s
Foundation.
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